A Trio of Slytherins
by Emmeebee
Summary: A collection of three one-shot drabbles written for the Slytherin Drabbles Competition. In order: the moment Pansy Parkinson decides to turn over Harry Potter, Tom Riddle considering Albus Dumbledore's opinion of him, and Vincent Crabbe reflecting on the ideas of being stupid and being a Slytherin.
1. Someone Grab Him

**Someone Grab Him**

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A/N: Written for the Slytherin Drabbles Competition for the character of Pansy Parkinson and for the If You Dare Challenge for the 'Not at the Cost of My Life' prompt. A massive thank you to Coco96 for beta reading this. Word count: 395.

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Pansy flinches as a voice that sounds like a denizen of nightmares rings out over the crowded hall. The realisation that it belongs to the wizard whose presence has tormented Draco for the past few years sends shivers racing down her spine. She _hates_ him. In her mind, anyone who hurts her friends deserves to die, ideally after a period of prolonged suffering. And, however just his cause might be, He Who Must Not Be Named has given her friends nothing but agony.

His words, however, stay her fury. Their honeyed tone is overdone to the point of absurdity, but his offer is undeniably tempting.

If the inhabitants of Hogwarts turn over Harry Potter, he'll let them live; if they sacrifice one person, no one else will have to die.

For the first time in her life, she doesn't know what she wants. She detests Muggle-borns; each and every one of them threatens to upset the system with their campaigns for house-elf rights and their contempt for time-honoured pureblood customs. Instead of accepting that entering the wizarding world entails accepting its culture, they seek to rip it apart like toddlers throwing a tantrum. But she doesn't want them to die. She might have claimed otherwise when she was younger, but she's never truly wanted it. And now, after almost a year of being forced to torture her classmates, she doesn't want them hurt, either. On the other hand, though, she knows that more than one of her relatives are among the small army that has been amassed outside the castle's walls. The prospect of fighting against her loved ones, never knowing when a stray curse might mutilate or slaughter them, is nauseating.

She wouldn't call herself cynical, but she certainly isn't idealistic either. Childish fancies and dreams get you nowhere in life; the only thing that sustains you is cold, hard ambition and a healthy sense of self-preservation. The idea of dying for your beliefs is a romantic but overrated concept, and she has never been one for quixotism.

Of course, she's well aware that the group of students who support Potter far outnumbers the small contingent who would be willing to publicly side with her. Still, she's used to being derided for her pragmatism, and _someone_ has to acknowledge the fact that they have a very real way of getting out of this intact.


	2. Nothing More to Do With It

**Nothing More to Do With It**

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A/N: Written for the Slytherin Drabbles Competition for the character of Tom Riddle and for the If You Dare Challenge for the 'Suspicion' prompt. A massive thank you to Coco96 for beta reading this. Word count: 386.

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The fact that he hasn't managed to win over Albus Dumbledore still irks him. In Tom's six years at Hogwarts, he's the one professor whose good graces the boy hasn't been able to schmooze his way into. By this stage, Tom has resigned himself to the fact that he'll probably never charm the man. What he _hasn't_ accepted is the uncertainty over why he failed. Finding and manipulating people's weaknesses usually comes naturally to him, but he hasn't yet been able to crack the secret to his Transfiguration professor. And yet, somehow, that professor is able to read _him_.

He knows he came on too strong in their first meeting. Dumbledore spotted the glimmer of darkness within him, the part of him that had been forced to confront the harsh realities of death and powerlessness and wanted nothing more to do with either state of being, and reacted to it. But he should have been able to fix things since then. People make mistakes. He knows that; he doesn't like it, but he knows it. Being able to deal with the aftermath of making mistakes is a part of life. So why can't he resolve the situation here?

It's not like this one wizard's perceptions of him will hinder his career. He is determined to see this through; his time at the orphanage as a child and as a teenager has made it abundantly clear that nothing short of power and prestige will do for him, and he is resourceful and driven enough to overcome any obstacles on his path to seizing it. One Horcrux has already been made, after all; it's not as if he has a time limit for success. Although he would prefer to quickly achieve his goals, he's willing to play the long game.

Any detrimental effect Dumbledore's disapproval might have had is negated by the fact that everyone else either adores or fears him. Still, it's tiresome and worrying and a small part of him can't help but feel miffed that the first person he met who was truly like him is so vehemently opposed to him.

 _I'll prove him wrong,_ he thinks as he passes the stately figure in a hallway and they exchange polite but insincere greetings. _Just like the people at the orphanage who thought I was worthless._


	3. Not Smart, Just Ambitious

**Not Smart, Just Ambitious**

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A/N: Written for the Slytherin Drabbles Competition for the character of Vincent Crabbe and for the If You Dare Challenge for the 'My Personality' prompt. A massive thank you to Coco96 for beta reading this. Word count: 397.

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Vincent is used to having his intelligence insulted. People from other houses do it on a regular basis, constantly pointing it out as if they genuinely think it's new to him. They apparently think he's so stupid that he doesn't even realise he struggles at school.

Even his friends sometimes slip up, although he knows they don't mean to hurt him; every now and again, he'll catch them muffling laughter at his confusion over some topic or another. The fact that they're otherwise accepting of him softens the affront, but it still serves as a painful reminder that he's not as bright as his friends. They were all taught how to charm and outwit those around them; he wasn't. He has more magical power, but does that really mean anything in daily life? At Hogwarts, he's able to substitute brawn for brain, and there will be opportunities to do that after he graduates, too, but it's not much help in conversations where people are talking in riddles and all he can do is try to follow along.

More than one person has implied that he's too dumb to be in Slytherin. "Aren't Slytherins supposed to be witty and cunning or, you know, at least _somewhat_ smart? Smarter than a Gryffindor, at least," a third year mudblood know-it-all once asked before being pummelled for his troubles. It wasn't the reminder of his failings that got to him; it was the implication that he didn't belong in Slytherin.

The professors are almost invariably unimpressed with him, too. His friends have helped him scrape by with a pass more than once, and he suspects that a few of the shrewder professors are aware of their assistance. They only refrain from interfering because they know what the political repercussions would be if they accused the children of the Sacred 28 of academic duplicity.

Professor Snape is the one exception to that. Vincent knows that his slowness – or, as the older wizard calls it, inanity – irks his Head of House. Still, the man is able to see beyond that. He sees the raw power and the willingness to follow as long as he's led somewhere worthwhile and the absolute loyalty to blood purity. Through the mist that muddles everyone else's perceptions, he sees _Vincent_.

Vincent knows he's a true Slytherin. He just struggles to ignore the pain of his classmates claiming otherwise.

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A/N: This interpretation of Vincent and his relationship with his friends was heavily influenced by how Colubrina portrays the character in her fic The Green Girl (which I would definitely recommend checking out, by the way).


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